By Liz Hoffman and David Benoit 

Nearly half of the directors of Williams Cos. resigned Thursday after they failed to oust the company's chief executive following the company's collapsed merger with Energy Transfer Equity LP, according to people familiar with the matter.

The resignations came following a closed-door board meeting in which the bloc sought to replace Chief Executive Alan Armstrong, the people said.

Chairman Frank MacInnis was among the directors that resigned, as were a pair of activist investors, Keith Meister and Eric Mandelblatt, the people said. All three championed the merger with Energy Transfer, which Mr. Armstrong had opposed.

Last week, a Delaware judge ruled that Energy Transfer could terminate the $33 billion takeover, which Energy Transfer's chairman, Kelcy Warren, had come to regret as oil prices slid.

Energy Transfer on Wednesday notified Williams of its intent to terminate the deal. Williams has appealed the Delaware ruling.

Write to Liz Hoffman at liz.hoffman@wsj.com and David Benoit at david.benoit@wsj.com

 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 30, 2016 18:21 ET (22:21 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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